Hi everyone,
I'm trying to get a good cardio/weight lifting routine going here and I need your help with some questions...
What I know, please correct me if I'm wrong...
- Swimming pretty much works out every muscle group
- Yet, freestyle works the arms/shoulders, while *** stroke is more towards working out the chest.
- Swimming tones muscles and doesn't work them as intensely compared to lifting heavy weights.
I've been lifting (exercising upper body) for a while now as well as running on the days I don't lift, but recently I've decided to drop one of my running days in exchange for swimming. Yet, swimming would mean I'd be working my arms out possibly two days in a row if I decided to swim and then lift the next day, compared to my current routine in which I work out my upper body and then legs (running) the next day. So therefore, I was wondering, do muscles technically need need 48 hours of rest after swimming to recover properly or is the muscle gain minor just like its OK to run nearly everyday? Also, If say I were to decide to swim on Monday and Wednesday, could I lift heavily in between those days on Tuesday without worries or would my muscles need more time to rest? Bottom line, I don't really want to decrease the amount of days I weight lift in order to throw in a day of swimming, but if I have to then I will. So if I work out my arms intensely by lifting weights, then can I swim intensely the next day and still gain muscle mass under the standards that one needs 48 hours of rest to completely recover that muscle group?
Also, what about running and swimming? Theres obviously, people out there that swim or run nearly everyday, so I'm guessing the 48 hour rule of rest/recovery doesn't really apply to those sports because the muscle gain isn't as intense as lifting weights?
Here is my routine that I have made so far, does anyone think I am not getting proper muscle rest?:
Sunday: run
Monday: lift
Tuesday: swim
Wednesday: lift
Thursday: run
Friday: lift
Saturday: rest
- Thanks!
Parents
Former Member
My two sports/passions are swimming and bodybuilding. (Now there's a X-train multi-sport combo if there ever was one.) I have been weight training for 17 years and swim training with Masters for 4+ months now and layering the two together quite well. Some challenges/changes have been:
-All my cardio work is now in the pool, I only do 5-15 min. light cardio warm-ups in the gym before weights.
-I've raised my caloric intake even more to maintain muscle mass and replace calories burned during swimming. I'm eating appoximately 4000 calories a day split into 6-7 medium sized meals & large snacks.
-I've been stretching more than ever (before and after both swimming and weights, especially before swimming when sore from weight training) and a full body stretch everyday, and 2-3X week in the sauna/hot tub. (I've noticed nobody on my Masters team stretches at all... I've also observed in just general conversation they know very little about nutrition as well.)
Hi Todd,
I too find that a good weight lifting program along with swimming is a fantastic combo. Similar to you, I skip all cardio besides swimming with the exception of a short warmup (usually on the bike) prior to lifting. What I really wanted to point out on your post though is the comment on nutrition. I am indebted to bodybuilders for teaching me how to eat!! Those guys take nutrition very very seriously. Anyhow, I can't emphasize enough how much eating the right foods and properly balancing my macros (I usually maintain with the basic 40p/40c/20f) and intake times has positively impacted my training. Getting the nutrition right is really fundamental to seeing any change.
My two sports/passions are swimming and bodybuilding. (Now there's a X-train multi-sport combo if there ever was one.) I have been weight training for 17 years and swim training with Masters for 4+ months now and layering the two together quite well. Some challenges/changes have been:
-All my cardio work is now in the pool, I only do 5-15 min. light cardio warm-ups in the gym before weights.
-I've raised my caloric intake even more to maintain muscle mass and replace calories burned during swimming. I'm eating appoximately 4000 calories a day split into 6-7 medium sized meals & large snacks.
-I've been stretching more than ever (before and after both swimming and weights, especially before swimming when sore from weight training) and a full body stretch everyday, and 2-3X week in the sauna/hot tub. (I've noticed nobody on my Masters team stretches at all... I've also observed in just general conversation they know very little about nutrition as well.)
Hi Todd,
I too find that a good weight lifting program along with swimming is a fantastic combo. Similar to you, I skip all cardio besides swimming with the exception of a short warmup (usually on the bike) prior to lifting. What I really wanted to point out on your post though is the comment on nutrition. I am indebted to bodybuilders for teaching me how to eat!! Those guys take nutrition very very seriously. Anyhow, I can't emphasize enough how much eating the right foods and properly balancing my macros (I usually maintain with the basic 40p/40c/20f) and intake times has positively impacted my training. Getting the nutrition right is really fundamental to seeing any change.
